Nikkei: KDDI plans 220 Mbps cellular network upgrade for summer 2014

When we first learned of the Fujitsu IS12T, the world's first handset sporting Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango," it was rumored to be showing up in the second half of August. Our hopes were crushed, however, when the company officially stated that it should be available the following month "or beyond." Sure, a September launch would still be on right on time (given Microsoft's intent of releasing the update this fall), but wouldn't it be nice to see something come out ahead of schedule? Chin up, folks -- the Au KDDI store in Nishi-Kasai tweeted that the IS12T will be released this coming Thursday and is already accepting preorders. And there's more to the story: even though Nanopho reports that multiple locations are busy taking reservations, Au's official site is still sticking to its guns about the phone's September release. Given the tug-of-war taking place between the stores and their corporate boss, next week may turn out to be quite interesting.

Update: Microsoft has now confirmed to us that there will indeed be a launch event in Japan on August 25th.